Tempest of rage shakes Sikh temple

Jagdeesh Singh is a Sikh, but he is regularly called a 'Paki bin Laden'. He has even been beaten up in the street. Now he feels that a Birmingham theatre has joined in the abuse. Anushka Asthana talks to an angry community

Jagdeesh Singh is a Sikh who believes his religion is grossly misrepresented. Since 11 September 2001, the 34-year-old has been unable to leave his house without someone screaming 'Osama bin Laden' at him. He was once attacked by two men in Coventry who shouted 'Paki Bin Laden' as they hit and kicked him to the ground.

'It is hardly surprising that Sikhs are sensitive about this play,' he said. 'We live every day with racism based on misinformation. You have to balance the desire for freedom of expression with the fact that it could provoke even greater prejudice.'

Singh was referring to the controversial play Behzti (Dishonour), which depicts rape and murder inside a gurdwara, a Sikh temple. The production was cancelled by the Birmingham Repertory Theatre last Monday after a week of peaceful protests by the Sikh community erupted into violence. Bricks were thrown through theatre windows as police struggled to hold back an angry crowd.

A spokeswoman for the theatre said it had a 'commitment to artistic freedom', but also 'a duty of care to its audiences, staff and performers'. The play was pulled, 'purely on safety grounds,' she said. Others were not so sure.

The play's author, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, was reported to be in hiding last week after receiving death threats. Sikh leaders called this weekend for protesters to withdraw any such threats.

The battle became one between freedom of speech and respect for beliefs. But are the two incompatible? Leading figures from the arts world jumped to Bhatti's defence. Actors, writers and directors - including Prunella Scales, Tariq Ali and Jude Kelly - signed a letter published in the Guardian on Thursday expressing their support for the playwright. The statement, which had 700 signatories, said: 'It is a legitimate function of art to provoke debate and sometimes to express controversial ideas. Those who use violent means to silence it must be vigorously opposed.'

Women's groups were also dismayed by the cancellation. They called it a 'challenging play' that dealt with important issues about oppression of women.

For Jagdeesh Singh, however, the battle is being fought on the wrong territory. This is not about suppressing criticism; it is about the type of criticism and how it is portrayed. Singh is not an illiberal stick-in-the-mud; he wants to see more debate about women's rights within Sikhism.

He brings horrific personal experience to that debate. In December 1998 his sister, Surjit Kaur Athwal, went to India with her mother-in-law and never returned. She had told her husband she was going to leave him. Singh believes there is evidence that she was the victim of an honour killing and has been campaigning for justice ever since.

'I want to see issues within the Sikh community, such as honour killings, discussed more than anybody,' he insisted. 'There have been plays welcomed and financially supported by the Sikh community that have looked at alcohol abuse, family breakdown and problems between old and young Sikhs.

'If Bhatti had looked at any of these issues, that would be excellent. But she went for something completely cold. It is a badly con ceived, badly organised play that is out of context and could have grave consequences for the perception of Sikhs in Britain.'

Many young Sikhs told The Observer they were outraged by the play and the subsequent press reaction. Jaswant Singh Bhangu, a 25-year-old flight lieutenant from Wolverhampton, is clean-shaven, does not wear a turban and considers himself a moderate Sikh. But he was so upset that he was ready to join the protest last Monday when the play was cancelled.

'I do not think people realise how important the gurdwara is. More than half of all Sikhs go there once or twice a week. There is so much misrepresentation of our religion and we suffer racism.'

Bhangu says he feels the Sikh community has a pro-British stance. 'Sikhs have embraced society here. We may look different and have fought to keep parts of our culture, but we have tried to integrate. Something like this play adds to misconceptions about us and makes me worry there will be an increase in racism against us.'

Leaders of Birmingham's Sikh community had been in negotiations with Bhatti and theatre producers before the protests. Sewa Singh Mandla, chairman of the Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in the city, said: 'On the one hand she agreed with me when I said these things did not happen in gurdwaras, but said that it was fiction so should go ahead. On the other hand [the fact that she] said she wished to expose hypocrisy implies it was based on fact. Such protests against a play have rarely, if ever, happened. Doesn't that suggest this really hurt people and that they protested for a good reason?'

Mandla said the violence was to be condemned, but in any protest there was bound to be a tiny minority more angry than the rest. He refuted reports that it was caused by militants: 'There are no extremists in our community.'

But others said there were many tensions in the community that may have resulted in the outbreak of violence. Gurharpal Singh, professor of inter-religious relations at the University of Birmingham, said: 'There is no structured leadership in the community, so competing groups try to get in on the act when single issues arise.'

He said that in the name of free speech the play should not have been cancelled: 'I have seen the script and I disagree with the content, but I would still defend its right to be shown.'

Many members of the Sikh community insisted they valued freedom of expression. 'Sikhs do not need lectures on freedom of speech,' said Jasdev Singh Rai, director of the Sikh Human Rights Group. 'We had freedom of speech long before the West and understand its boundaries. It is only 30 years since this country came to the conclusion that racism could not be defended on this basis.'

But women's groups hit back, insisting the play should be shown. Hannana Siddiqui, of Southall Black Sisters, said there were problems with oppression against women: 'We have the right to express our views either in an artistic form or political protest. We know of women who have been raped by religious leaders - we don't know if it has, but it is possible that it has happened in a temple, church or mosque. The wider issue at stake is whether a person has a right to express themselves.'

For one Sikh woman from Southall, it is the media coverage rather than the play that has been most upsetting. 'I have became increasingly disillusioned with it,' said the 24-year-old journalist, who did not want to be named. 'It's all very well for journalism to champion the West for being balanced, objective and treasuring freedom of speech, yet the majority of the coverage was very one-sided, failing to even try to understand the psyche of the Sikh community's response.'

It is unlikely that the play will be shown in the near future. Plans to have readings have been shelved after appeals from Bhatti herself. If it does ever get another showing, Jagdeesh Singh will be outside, in peaceful protest. All he wants, he argues, is a little respect.